Dr Derwent Waldron: a Jamaican doctor in Hove

In 1918, Dr Derwent Hutton Ryder Waldron was listed at 7 Modena Road, Hove. A Jamaican doctor whose professional life had taken him through Edinburgh and West Africa, he was now recorded on a residential street in the town. Within a few years, the records place him and his family at another Hove address: 25 Carlisle Road.

These two homes connect Hove with a history of Caribbean migration that reaches back before the better-known arrivals of the post-war years. They also give us a starting point for recovering Waldron’s life here through his household, his retirement and the family who shared his home.

A family home in Hove

The 1918 electoral register names Derwent Hutton Ryder Waldron at 7 Modena Road. A Sussex directory published that year gives the same address.

By the census of 19 June 1921, the family was living at 25 Carlisle Road. Waldron signed the household return himself. Alongside him were his wife, Ethel Marguerite, and their seven-year-old son, Gerald Derwent. Gerald was recorded as being in full-time education, although the return does not identify his school.

The census describes Waldron as a retired Senior Medical Officer and names the Gold Coast Government as his employer. His birthplace is recorded as Kingston, Jamaica.

The family’s earlier records lead back to London. Gerald was baptised at St Saviour’s, Paddington, on 24 October 1913. The parish register names his parents as Derwent and Ethel Marguerite Waldron, gives their address as 49 Lauderdale Mansions and describes his father as a retired doctor.

Together, the baptism and census establish the family relationship. Hove was home to the doctor himself, as well as to his son.

The career behind the Carlisle Road address

Waldron’s medical training took him to Edinburgh University. A contemporary report in the British Medical Journal lists him among those awarded the Bachelor of Medicine and Master in Surgery on 1 August 1879, with “Jamaica” beside his full name.

Edinburgh University’s UncoverED research includes Waldron in its account of African and African-descended students. His story belongs within that wider history of people travelling across the British Empire for education and professional work.

The 1925 Medical Directory, which lists Waldron at 25 Carlisle Road, brings several parts of his career together. It records his Edinburgh qualifications, his former position as a Senior Medical Officer in the West African Medical Staff, and medical service in St Kitts in the Caribbean. It also identifies him as a barrister of Lincoln’s Inn, qualified in 1893.

His working life therefore crossed several places and professions. By the time the census recorded him in Hove, he described himself as retired. We have yet to establish whether he continued any medical work locally.

Remembering Waldron in Hove

Waldron was still listed at 25 Carlisle Road in the 1928 electoral register. He died on 18 December that year.

The burial register for St Philip’s, Aldrington, records his burial on 21 December 1928, gives his abode as 25 Carlisle Road and records his age as 78. The following year’s probate calendar identifies the same Hove address and names Ethel Marguerite Waldron as his widow.

There is more to discover about their lives in the town: when they arrived, who they knew and how they spent their years here. Those details need further evidence.

The records already give the Waldron family a firm place in Hove’s history. Modena Road and Carlisle Road connect the town with Jamaica, medical education in Scotland and employment in Britain’s colonial service. Remembering the people who lived at these addresses adds depth to the history of migration and family life in Brighton and Hove.

Sources:

1918 electoral register: BHEL000336, Portland Ward, polling district Y, Division I, entry 1021. Ancestry record and image.

1918 Sussex directory: entry for Derwent Hutton Waldron, 7 Modena Road, Hove. Ancestry directory record.

1921 census: The National Archives, RG15/4980, enumeration district 28, schedule 48; original household return and address panel inspected. Waldron household.

Gerald Derwent Waldron’s baptism: St Saviour, Paddington, 24 October 1913; The London Archives, P87/SAV/004, page 179, entry 1429. Baptism record and image.

British Medical Journal, 23 August 1879: volume 2, number 973, “Medical News”, pages 313–314; Edinburgh degree ceremony and graduate list. Digitised original.

University of Edinburgh, UncoverED: Tom Cunningham’s account of Edinburgh’s links with Africa, discussing Waldron and drawing on Jeffrey Green’s Black Edwardians. University research.

Medical Directory, 1925: page 1087; Wellcome reference B21330724_i13766107. Waldron’s entry.

1928 electoral register: BHEL1928/29, Wish Ward East, polling district X1, page 4, entry 152. Record and original image.

St Philip’s burial register: The Keep, PAR396/1/5/2, page 38, entry 304. Burial record and original image.

National Probate Calendar, 1929: Derwent Hutton Ryder Waldron; death 18 December 1928, probate granted in London 15 February 1929. Government probate search.

Image: The Voice of Hassocks, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons